import platform

def scan_serial_ports( ):
    '''Scan for available ports. return a list of tuples (num, name).
    Based on the scan.py example from pySerial (http://pyserial.sf.net).
    '''
    from chiplotle.tools.serialtools import scan_serial_ports_linux
    from chiplotle.tools.serialtools import scan_serial_ports_windows
    if platform.system( ).lower( ).startswith('windows') or \
        platform.system( ).lower( ).startswith('cygwin'):
        return scan_serial_ports_windows( )
    else:
        return scan_serial_ports_linux( )
